Reasons for American Imperialism
America: What is different?
By George, I think something’s changed?
Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality
• Neutrality!!!• Wanted the US to stay out of foreign conflicts.
And what did Monroe say??
• Monroe Doctrine – United States would stay out of foreign affairs (in the Eastern Hemisphere)– East stay in East, West stay
in West
• Europe should not be involved in the Western Hemisphere at all!
And we pushed West…
• Manifest Destiny – believed that they had the divine right to gain Western Lands.– Indian Wars– Homestead Act– Railroads
So, how did Alaska and Hawaii become part of the U.S.?
Imperialism!!
• The policy in which stronger nations extend their economic, political, or military control over weaker territories
Causes of Imperialism
Cause #1: Economics
• Raw materials for use in industry• Access to new markets: US producing more
than it can use• Need new opportunities for capital
investment • Mercantilism: belief that nations need to
export more than they import to grow and maintain wealth
Cause #2: Military Strength
• Alfred T Mahan argued for a powerful navy
• 1890: Wrote The Influence of Sea Power Upon History
• Powerful navies require naval bases worldwide
The Great White Fleet• Fleet of 16 US
battleships sent out on a world tour to demonstrate American naval power between 1907 and 1909 on orders of President Theodore Roosevelt
• Greatly enhanced American prestige
Cause #3: Nationalism and Social Darwinism
• Social Darwinism– Used ideas of racial, national, and cultural
superiority to justify imperialism• Manifest Destiny
– “White Man’s Burden”• White man is burdened with the task of “civilizing”
minority races• Anglo-Saxonism– Belief that English speaking nations were destined
to rule due to superior character, ideas, and systems of government
• Europe is imperialist, why not U.S.?
John Fiske• Argued that physical
evolution of man had ended due to social developments
• As a result, the society which is superior will be the dominant force in social evolution
Josiah Strong• Americans should
support imperialism because it spreads Christianity
• The Anglo-Saxon race have a responsibility to “civilize and Christianize” the rest of the world
Cause #4: No More Frontier • US had expanded as much as it could in North
America• Frederick Jackson Turner proposed his “Frontier
Thesis” – Argued that American society had evolved as a result
of always having a Western frontier; now that the frontier was closed, US was at risk of stagnation• What is stagnation?
• Many interpreted this as meaning that the US needed to find new frontiers in order to maintain our position
Purchase of Alaska• U.S. bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million
dollars• At first, people thought it was a waste of money• Seward’s Folly – Secretary of State Seward was ridiculed for the
purchase
Resources in Alaska
• Timber• Minerals• Oil
What about Hawaii?
"We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than we did
California. It is manifest destiny." -President McKinley
Hawaii
• U.S. missionaries had moved there• Sugar plantations soon dominated the islands’
economy• Sugar was sold to the U.S.
Sugar Planters Got Rich!!!
• By mid-1800s—sugar accounted for ¾ of islands’ wealth
• Imported labor from Japan, Portugal, and China
• Sold sugar tax free to the U.S.
McKinley Tariff is Passed
• Largest tariff passed in the U.S. at that point in history
How would the sugar plantation owners feel about that tariff?
(Remember: What’s a protective tariff?)
Plantation Owners Opposed Tariff
• Planters called for the U.S. to annex Hawaii– ANNEX = Become part of another country (US)
• Wanted to avoid the tariff
They even built a military base
• Pearl Harbor
Hawaiians Opposed Annexation• Queen Liliuokalani
• Attempted to:– Throw out the Bayonet
Constitution• Gave whites the vote and
limited monarch’s power– Extend suffrage to native
Hawaiians and Asians
• What do you think white Americans in Hawaii did?
Revolt and Overthrow of Queen
• Led by Sanford B. Dole• Had the help of the U.S. Marines
Overthrow of the Queen• Americans staged a coup,
then reported to the American consulate that American lives and property were in danger due to the coup!
• US consulate called Marines ashore from the US naval base at Pearl Harbor
• Hawaiians surrendered
Hawaii Became a U.S. Territory
• Hawaiians never got a chance to vote• Hawaii became a state in 1959
Should the US Expand Its Territory?
• You are going to write an argument for or against the expansion of the US.
• This is your LEFT SIDE • Argument must include: – Brief explanation of US involvement in foreign affairs– Explanation of Imperialism (causes) – Explain why the US wants to annex Alaska/Hawaii
• 2 reasons
– Explain your view regarding annexation • 2 reasons